


Aye aye, Captain

by Nekokratik



Series: (Even in This Life) I will Find You [3]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Gen, Shanks somehow has his life together, most probably because of Benn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:00:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22363009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nekokratik/pseuds/Nekokratik
Summary: "Damn it, did the location change again? Seriously, those guys should get it together."
Series: (Even in This Life) I will Find You [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1608052
Comments: 2
Kudos: 117





	Aye aye, Captain

Luffy yipped happily as he managed to sneak out of the house. 

Ever since business started picking up, Shanks started leaving him alone at home as a hectic office with people running around was not a safe environment for a small dog. With nobody to keep him company, Luffy easily got bored and decided that new adventures had to be had. 

He trotted through the neighborhood, getting distracted by birds, cats and squirrels. Before he knew it, he was walking down the busy streets of the downtown area. 

Just as he was staring at the window of a small restaurant, his ears perked at hearing a familiar voice. 

"Damn it, did the location change again? Seriously, those guys should get it together." 

Luffy turned around to see a man with green hair grumbling at the restaurant. 

Luffy barked happily. 

Zoro looked down at the ball of fur at his feet. "What, are you lost?" 

When he noticed the jingling dog tags, he picked Luffy up to get a closer look. Luffy took advantage of this and started licking all over his face. 

"Ok, ok, let's see, Luffy? Hm, at least there is a phone number," Zoro read. He dialed the number as he tried to keep the small dog from climbing all over him. 

"Shanks speaking." 

"Hi, I found your dog on the streets," Zoro replied as he tried to keep his hold on Luffy. "Hey, stop moving." 

"What? Luffy! I told you not to leave the house!" Shanks yelled which prompted Luffy to start barking loudly. 

"Anyways," Zoro interrupted them forcefully. "What do you want me to do with him?" 

"If you could drop him off, I'd really appreciate it, I'll send over the address," Shanks said. "Oh, I don't think I caught your name." 

"It's Zoro, and yeah, it's no problem," Zoro replied. 

"Oh, the first mate," Shanks murmured thoughtfully. "Well, trust in Luffy's sense of direction, he knows where you are heading." 

"If you say so," Zoro looked at the ball of fur with doubt. He hung up and contemplated placing the dog back on the ground, but without a leash and considering the dog's short legs, it was going to be a problem. Before Zoro could do anything, Luffy scrambled to climb his way up to Zoro's unoccupied shoulder. "That works, too." 

Once he was sure the dog wouldn't fall off, he looked up the place on his phone. "Ok, it's not too far." 

Zoro started walking down the street with Luffy nuzzling him on his shoulder. When Luffy noticed they were walking down an unknown street he barked loudly. 

"Ah! What the hell!" Zoro brought Luffy in front of him and rubbed his sore ear. Luffy barked again and waved his right paw to the right. "What no, we are heading to where your owner is." 

Luffy stubbornly waved his paw and barked again. Zoro glared at the beady black eyes, and even through all the fur and the lack of eyebrows, Zoro could tell the little dog was frowning. With a sigh, he pulled out his phone and checked the map, and indeed, the GPS point towards the same direction Luffy was waving at. 

Begrudgingly, he placed Luffy back on his shoulder and started walking in that direction. 

As he walked, Luffy would occasionally bark and wave his paws about, only settling down when Zoro walked in the direction the little dog wanted. They eventually reached their destination, a tall high-rise building in the heart of the city. Men and women in suits rushed in and out of the building, not paying them any mind. 

Zoro walked up to the information desk. 

"Hello, how can I help you?" The man behind the desk asked. 

"I found him, and his owner said I could drop him off here," Zoro said and held Luffy up by the scruff. Luffy barked and happily wagged his tail. 

"Oh! Luffy!" The man laughed. "Up to no good again, are you? No worries, young man, just take the elevators to the right to the top floor." 

"All right, thanks," Zoro said and made his way towards the elevators. Luffy barked and leaned over Zoro's shoulder, waving his paws at the man behind the information desk. 

The elevator ride was a quick one and thankfully an uneventful one. The doors opened to a chaotic office with people yelling across the floor at each other, people running around cubicles, and loose paper and coffee cups on every surface. 

Zoro looked around with apprehension and shifted his guitar bag on his shoulder. It would be a problem if something were to happen to it. Luffy, who was perched on his other shoulder, jumped down and ran down the hall, deftly avoiding people and objects alike. 

Zoro cursed and went after him. It'd would be a problem for him and the owner if the boss sees a dog running around in the office. 

He caught a glimpse of black fur going through a door. "Hey, come ba-" 

He stopped mid-sentence when he saw a rough looking man holding Luffy by the scruff. The man had long silver hair in a ponytail and a scar on his face, and Zoro could tell he had some serious muscles under that suit. Even so, he wouldn't back down without a fight, one or two charges wouldn't affect his already spotty record. 

"Sorry about this, but could you give him back," Zoro said. The man glared at him before turning his attention back to the chastised dog in front of him. 

"So, this is the guy?" The man grumbled to which Luffy barked happily with his tail wagging furiously. When he didn't let go the small dog, Zoro took a step forward ready to throw a punch. 

The man sighed and dropped Luffy onto Zoro's tense form. 

"Make yourself comfortable. What would you like to drink? Coffee? Tea?" The man said as he walked towards the door. 

"Huh? Uh, anything is fine," Zoro said dumbfoundedly. The man nodded and closed the door behind him. "What just happened." 

Luffy barked in his arms. 

"You are more trouble than you are worth," Zoro sighed. He placed his guitar down and sat down on the sofa. "This day is just getting more and more complicated." 

He took out his phone to see various unread messages and missed calls. He started replying to some of them as Luffy wandered around the office. After a couple of minutes of furious typing, he dropped his phone with a loud curse. 

Luffy hopped back onto his lap and tilted his head at him. Zoro petted him with one hand as the other massaged his temples. 

"Just gotta find a place to live, that place had a shitty landlord anyways," Zoro grumbled. 

Before either of them could do anything, the silver haired man came back. He handed Zoro a can of iced coffee before he sat down on the opposite sofa. 

"Sorry about this, we just got a new project, so things have been hectic around here," the man said. "Luffy must have gotten bored and snuck out of the house. He has trouble dealing with boredom and loneliness." 

"So, you know who he belongs to? I don't know who you are, but I'd rather hand him over in person," Zoro said. The man just chuckled. 

"Cheeky kid. The name is Benn Beckman, just Benn is fine," Ben held out a hand towards Zoro. Zoro frowned at being called a kid. 

"Roronoa Zoro," Zoro said as they shook hands. 

"So, what does your company do?" Zoro asked and Ben laughed. 

"Well, I'm just one of the many hard working people employed here," Ben said before he took a drink of his coffee. "And you could say the Red Force deals with safety and security." 

Before Zoro could say anything, the door was slammed open. 

"Luffy!" Shanks yelled. Luffy barked in greeting and jumped towards the man fully expecting a hug, but instead Shanks placed him on the table and started scolding him. 

Zoro stared at them bewildered as Shanks scolded the small dog as one would towards a child. 

"Don't worry about them," Ben sighed. "They are always like that." 

As Zoro watched, he could tell that Luffy was no ordinary dog. He whined as if apologizing and barked as if responding to Shanks' words. Shanks for his part seemed to interpret all the dog's noises perfectly and they seemed to be having a normal conversation. 

Benn watched the kid in front of him closely. He knew what or who Luffy was, and Shanks had told him briefly about this kid who had found Luffy wandering on the streets. The supposed greatest swordsman in their past lives and Luffy's first mate, but Benn knew reincarnations didn't mean anything. Past bonds didn't necessarily hold in this life. 

"So, what's the story behind that?" Zoro pointed his thumb at the arguing duo. "Either that is a super intelligent dog or that guy can understand animal speech, either ways it's not normal." 

"What makes you think we would tell you?" Benn asked. 

Zoro frowned. "Well, I have dropped off the dog, I should be going," Zoro stood up and shouldered his guitar bag. Before he could make it to the door, Luffy stood in his way barking. 

Shanks walked over and attempted to pick him up, but Luffy started growling. 

Shanks and Ben had never heard Luffy growl before and they were shocked at hearing it for the first time. Before any of them could react, Luffy scurried his way back towards the desk and they could hear him rummaging for something. 

"Hey, anchor, don't you dare chew on my paperwork," Shanks said. Luffy emerged from behind the table with a stack of papers in his mouth. "Why, you little-" 

Luffy dropped the papers in front of Shanks and started slapping them with his paw and barking up at him. Shanks picked him and the papers up and leaned back on the table to read them. 

Zoro took his chance and made his way towards the door. 

"Hey, are you new in town?" Shanks asked as Zoro opened the door. 

"What of it?" Zoro asked as he turned to look at the man. 

"Did you already have a place to stay at?" Shanks looked up from the papers. Zoro's silence was more than enough of a response for Shanks. "You see, it seems like I have a new business venture and I need new tenants." 

Benn narrowed his eyes at his long-time friend and current boss. 

"Of course, the place is still under some renovations and it needs some work, so it'll be considerably cheap," Shanks said. 

"What's the catch?" Zoro turned around completely and let go of the door handle. 

"I know how hard it is to find a place in this city, let alone something affordable for a newcomer. As my pet's saviour, I would like to help you in return," Shanks grinned as he watched the kid in front of him get more doubtful. "I can keep the rent cheap, the only condition is that you and any other tenant staying at this place must look after Luffy." 

"And who are the other people?" Zoro asked. 

"No one yet," Shanks smirked as he held out his hand. "So, how about it?" 

"Sure, why not," Zoro shook his hand. 


End file.
